Beaches and Cream Soda Shop Lunch Review [2025 Gluten Free & Food Allergy Options]

*This gluten free dining experience took place in October 2025. It includes information about dairy free options, as well as fish/shellfish, peanut/tree nut, chicken/turkey & cabbage allergies.

Lunch at Beaches & Cream

Beaches & Cream Soda Shop, located at Disney’s Beach Club Resort, is a Disney dining location that gives all the nostalgia with its retro look and food inspired by classic fountain shops. We have always enjoyed eating at Beaches & Cream, especially for appetizers and their ice cream options. On this visit, we stopped by for a full meal.

Atmosphere

Opening in 1990, Beaches & Cream is inspired by ice cream shops of the Atlantic seashore. We’ve been going to this restaurant for over two decades ourselves. Though the restaurant has seen some changes, including a large refurbishment and expansion in 2019, what we love most about it is the retro vibes and Disney nostalgia.

Beaches & Cream Soda Shop Sign / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW

From the moment you see the restaurant’s entrance, you’ll know you’re going back in time for some classic fountain shop food and fun.

Beaches & Cream Soda Shop Entrance / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW

Beaches & Cream is especially popular, so be sure to make reservations if you’re hoping to dine inside the restaurant. It does have a to go counter, but lately we’ve heard hit or miss reports for guests with special dietary needs being able to get many options at the walk-up counter for ice cream.

Beaches & Cream - Interior / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW

You’ll find the inside includes a classic fountain shop counter with barstools but also lots of eating too. We also love the art on the walls that keeps the retro vibes going.

The Food

We’re always most excited to get ice cream sundaes and tater tots whenever we go to Beaches & Cream. The restaurant does have an allergy-friendly menu, but we do recommend asking about additional options.

We did speak to a chef on this visit. There were some options that they were able to modify that were not marked on the menu, but we were bummed that some options which seemed like an easy modification were not an option on this visit. Your mileage may vary, and we’ve been hearing a lot of mixed reports lately about what options may or may not be available at the restaurant.

Beaches & Cream - GF Loaded Tater Tots / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW

We absolutely love the Cheese and Bacon Tots and were able to get these as an appetizer. They are not listed on the allergy-friendly menu, but the tots are made in a dedicated fryer and were gluten free, fish/shellfish free, peanut/tree nut free, chicken/turkey free & cabbage family vegetable free.

If you’re dairy free, they do have a plant-based vegan chili and cheese tots that we recommend (and that I got with my entree this visit). You can also get a version of the cheese and bacon tots GFDF but you won’t get the melted cheese sauce but will get shredded DF cheese instead.

We don’t know if there was something lost in translation, because we were served two bowls of tots, when we asked to split one. Not that we’ll ever complain about extra potatoes!

We were also missing a lot of the cheese and bacon tot toppings including red onion and garlic peppercorn ranch. Despite the tots missing some toppings, we both still really enjoyed these and would highly recommend these.

Beaches & Cream - GF French Dip Sandwich / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW

Both of us ordered the French Dip Sandwich which was marked GF and safe for Egg, Fish/Shellfish, Peanut/Tree Nut, Sesame, and Soy Allergies on the allergy friendly menu. As a side, you could get French fries, tots (including any kind of loaded tot), or fruit. I opted for the Plant-Based Vegan Chili and Cheese Tots.

These tots are not marked on the allergy-friendly menu but are GF and safe for egg, fish/shellfish, milk, peanut/tree, chicken/turkey & cabbage family vegetables allergies. Like our other tots, these were missing the vegan sour cream and green onion. They were still very good, and I loved the hearty chili that came with these loaded tots.

The French Dip Sandwich, on the other hand, was not great. Both Brandon and I felt the sandwich was very dry (even when dipping it in the au jus) and lacked much flavor. The cheese was not melted and in general, it was just not a good sandwich. I’ve had this before on other visits, and it was fantastic. So, maybe this was a rare bad version — but I might skip this next time and go for something else. Brandon said he wouldn’t order again and that he’d just order the classic cheeseburger next time.

Beaches & Cream - Dairy Free Sundae / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW

For dessert, we both got non-dairy sundaes. The restaurant was having supply issues, and we were told they were out of chocolate Tofutti and only had one scoop of vanilla Tofutti left. They also had some So Delicious non-dairy vanilla ice cream.

My sundae included 1 scoop of vanilla Tofutti, 1 scoop of vanilla So Delicious, marshmallow sauce, chocolate syrup, sliced almonds, and a cherry on top. This was marked GF and safe for Egg, Milk, and Sesame Allergies.

Overall, I liked this, but it was certainly not the best sundae that I’ve had at Beaches & Cream. Sadly, the non-dairy ice cream was freezer burnt. This is the only not great sundae that I’ve ever had at this restaurant, so I will chalk it up to being a rare situation. I would still highly recommend the sundaes at Beaches & Cream.

Beaches & Cream - Dairy Free Sundae / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW

Brandon’s non-dairy sundae included So Delicious vanilla non-dairy ice cream with chocolate syrup. The So Delicious was definitely the most freezer burnt of the two options, but despite this, Brandon still said it was good.

If you want to hear more about our experience at Beaches & Cream, check out the vlog we did for our YouTube channel for more information.

Overall

While this was a bit of an outlier of a visit for us, with inconsistent food and hit or miss options, we’d still recommend Beaches & Cream. If you’re looking for ice cream, especially, it’s a must visit. We always love the non-dairy ice cream options. We didn’t get some of the big sundaes on this visit, but the modified No Way Jose sundae is my absolute favorite and one I’d highly recommend. For both of us, we agree that Beaches & Cream is really a place for ice cream and appetizers. The main food is OK, but nothing special. But, if you want ice cream and tots? Beaches & Cream is always a winner for that. We’re looking forward to going back and getting some different ice cream options on our next visit.

Have you been to Beaches & Cream? What was your experience dining there gluten free or with other special dietary needs?